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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > The hydrosphere
This monograph aims at presenting a unified approach to numerical
modeling of tsunami as long waves based on finite difference
methods for 1D, 2D and 3D generation processes, propagation, and
runup. Many practical examples give insight into the relationship
between long wave physics and numerical solutions and allow readers
to quickly pursue and develop specific topics in greater depth. The
aim of this book is to start from basics and then continue into
applications. This approach should serve well the needs of
researchers and students of physics, physical oceanography,
ocean/civil engineers, computer science, and emergency management
staff. Chapter 2 is particularly valuable as it fully describes the
application of finite-difference methods to the study of long waves
by demonstrating how physical properties of water waves, especially
phase velocity, are connected to the chosen numerical algorithm.
Basic notions of numerical methods, i.e. approximation of the
relevant differential equations, stability of the numerical scheme,
and computational errors are explained through application to long
waves. Finite-difference methods are further developed in major
chapters to deal with complex problems that arise in the study of
recent tsunamis.
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Ecohydrology
(Hardcover)
Xavier Parsons
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R3,253
R2,946
Discovery Miles 29 460
Save R307 (9%)
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Ships in 18 - 22 working days
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Examining the science of stream restoration, Rebecca Lave argues
that the neoliberal emphasis on the privatization and
commercialization of knowledge has fundamentally changed the way
that science is funded, organized, and viewed in the United States.
Stream restoration science and practice is in a startling state.
The most widely respected expert in the field, Dave Rosgen, is a
private consultant with relatively little formal scientific
training. Since the mid-1990s, many academic and federal agency -
based scientists have denounced Rosgen as a charlatan and a hack.
Despite this, Rosgen's Natural Channel Design approach,
classification system, and short-course series are not only
accepted but are viewed as more legitimate than academically
produced knowledge and training. Rosgen's methods are now promoted
by federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency,
the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and
the Natural Resources Conservation Service, as well as by resource
agencies in dozens of states. Drawing on the work of Pierre
Bourdieu, Lave demonstrates that the primary cause of Rosgen's
success is neither the method nor the man but is instead the
assignment of a new legitimacy to scientific claims developed
outside the academy, concurrent with academic scientists'
decreasing ability to defend their turf. What is at stake in the
Rosgen wars, argues Lave, is not just the ecological health of our
rivers and streams but the very future of environmental science.
In The Big Muddy, the first long-term environmental history of the
Mississippi, Christopher Morris offers a brilliant tour across five
centuries as he illuminates the interaction between people and the
landscape, from early hunter-gatherer bands to present-day
industrial and post-industrial society.
Morris shows that when Hernando de Soto arrived at the lower
Mississippi Valley, he found an incredibly vast wetland, forty
thousand square miles of some of the richest, wettest land in North
America, deposited there by the big muddy river that ran through
it. But since then much has changed, for the river and for the
surrounding valley. Indeed, by the 1890s, the valley was rapidly
drying. Morris shows how centuries of increasingly intensified
human meddling--including deforestation, swamp drainage, and levee
construction--led to drought, disease, and severe flooding. He
outlines the damage done by the introduction of foreign species,
such as the Argentine nutria, which escaped into the wild and are
now busy eating up Louisiana's wetlands. And he critiques the most
monumental change in the lower Mississippi Valley--the
reconstruction of the river itself, largely under the direction of
the Army Corps of Engineers. Valley residents have been paying the
price for these human interventions, most visibly with the disaster
that followed Hurricane Katrina. Morris also describes how valley
residents have been struggling to reinvigorate the valley
environment in recent years--such as with the burgeoning catfish
and crawfish industries--so that they may once again live off its
natural abundance.
Morris concludes that the problem with Katrina is the problem with
the Amazon Rainforest, drought and famine in Africa, and fires and
mudslides in California--it is the end result of the ill-considered
bending of natural environments to human purposes.
The increasingly widespread production of toxins by marine and
freshwater microalgae raises serious concerns regarding seafood and
drinking water safety. This book compiles studies on the influence
of climate change on the spreading of toxin-producing species in
aquatic systems. The chemistry and biology of toxin production is
revised and an outlook on control and prevention of the toxins'
impact on human and animal health is given.
The contamination of environment and water resources by Selenium
(Se) and its oxyanions from various sources are emerging
contaminants of significant health and environmental concern. The
primary sources include agricultural drainage water, mine drainage,
residues from fossil fuels, thermoelectric power plants, oil
refineries, and metal ores. Various methods and technologies have
been developed which focus on the treatment of selenium-containing
waters and wastewater. High concentrations of selenium in water
cause various adverse impact to human health, such as carcinogenic,
genotoxic, and cytotoxic effects. But in the lower concentrations,
it is a useful constituent of the biological system. The range
between toxicity and deficiency of selenium is minimal (40 to 400 g
per day), due to its dual nature. Selenium Contamination in Water
contains the latest status and information on selenium's origin,
its chemistry and its toxicity to humans. The book represents a
comprehensive and advanced reference book for students,
researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in working in the
field of metalloids, in particular selenium. A special emphasis is
given on its geological distribution, monitoring techniques, and
remedial technologies. As such, the authors critically analyze the
various techniques used for the monitoring and removal of selenium
from water. Featuring chapters arranged according to the major
themes of the latest research, with specific case-studies from
industrial experiences of selenium detection and removal, Selenium
Contamination in Water will be particularly valued by researchers,
practitioners, and policymakers in working in the field of
metalloids including selenium.
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Sea Fever
(Hardcover)
Dale Franzen; Illustrated by Don Franzen
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R591
Discovery Miles 5 910
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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The Mekong is the most controversial river in Southeast Asia, and
increasingly the focus of international attention. It flows through
6 counties, China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam.
The 4 downstream countries have formed the Mekong River Commission
to promote sustainable development of the river and many of their
people depend on it for their subsistence ? it has possible the
largest freshwater fishery in the world, and the Mekong waters
support rice agriculture in the delta in Viet Nam (which produces
about 40% of that country's food) as well as in Cambodia, Laos and
Thailand.
China is now building the first large mainstream dam on the river,
and has proposals for several more. These dams are likely to affect
the downstream countries. Several of the downstream countries also
have plans for large scale hydropower and irrigation development
which could also impact the river.
This book will provide a solid overview of the biophysical
environment of the Mekong together with a discussion of the
possible impacts, biophysical, economic and social, of some
possible development scenarios. It is intended to provide a
technical basis which can inform the growing political and
conservation debate about the future of the Mekong River, and those
who depend on it. It is aimed at river ecologists, geographers,
environmentalists and development specialists both in the basin and
(especially) outside for whom access to this material is most
difficult.
This book will be the first comprehensive treatment of the Mekong
system
Key Features
*The first comprehensive overview of all aspects of the Mekong
River system.
*Deals with a regionally critical ecosystem and one under threat.
*The Mekong supports the world's largest freshwater fishery and
provides water underpinning a major regional rice paddy system.
* Presents the authoritative findings of the Mekong River
Commission's research for a wider audience for the first time
outside of limited distribution reports
The scientific disciplines of hydrology and hydrogeology are
expanding as the Earth's water is being recognized by governments
and individuals as a shrinking resource-no entity can afford to
take water for granted. At the present time, there is no single
reference source for definitions. The Encyclopedic Dictionary of
Hydrogeology is a practical, comprehensive reference guide with
complete definitions of terms in hydrogeology and other fields
closely related to water practices. This concise reference not only
defines terms and concepts, but also provides a clear explanation
of key elements so that an in-depth understanding of processes may
be obtained.
* With more than 2,000 entries, from "absolute permeability" to the
"Z-R relationship," this dictionary features the most up-to-date
vocabulary in hydrology and hydrogeology. This dictionary would be
of use to practicing scientists and professionals in all the fields
of water science.
* More than 340 graphs, tables and diagrams complement the entries
in order to clarify terms, methods, or processes
* Essential reference for students, academics, consultants, and
practitioners in hydrology, hydrogeology, environmental
engineering, environmental law, and the government
This book provides a survey of the frontiers of research in the
numerical modeling and mathematical analysis used in the study of
the atmosphere and oceans. The details of the current practices in
global atmospheric and ocean models, the assimilation of
observational data into such models and the numerical techniques
used in theoretical analysis of the atmosphere and ocean are among
the topics covered.
Truly interdisciplinary: scientific interactions between
specialties of atmospheric and ocean sciences and applied and
computational mathematics
Uses the approach of computational mathematicians, applied and
numerical analysts and the tools appropriate for unsolved problems
in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences
Contributions uniquely address central problems and provide a
survey of the frontier of research
Through research, physical oceanography aims to solve the
numerous problems stated by thermal, optical and dynamical
properties of the oceans. "Instrumentation and Metrology in
Physical Oceanography" describes the means used in oceanography to
determine physical properties of the oceans by medium of "in situ"
measurements. This book explores the theoretical functioning of
sensors and instruments, as well as different practical aspects of
using these tools. The content of this book appeals directly to
technicians or engineers wishing to enhance their knowledge of
instrumentation and application to environment surveillance.
"Instrumentation and Metrology in Physical Oceanography" details
the functioning of sensors and instruments used to assess the
following parameters in oceanography: temperature, conductivity,
pressure, sound velocity, current in magnitude and direction, time
and position with GPS, height of water and tide, waves, optical and
chemical properties (turbidity), dissolved gas (O2, CO2), pH,
nutrients and other dissolved elements. Furthermore, this book also
elaborates on the different means used to obtain measurements at
sea (boats, drifting floats, moorings, undersea platforms,
gliders...) and techniques currently being developed.
Many scientists either working on the El Nino/Southern Oscillation
(ENSO) problem or its many applications have not been trained in
both the equatorial ocean and atmospheric dynamics necessary to
understand it. This book seeks to overcome this difficulty by
providing a step by step introduction to ENSO, helping the upper
level graduate student or research scientist to learn quickly the
ENSO basics and be up to date with the latest ENSO research. The
text assumes that the reader has a knowledge of the equations of
fluid mechanics on a rotating earth and emphasizes the observations
and simple physical explanations of them.
Following a history of ENSO and a discussion of ENSO observations
in Chapters 1 and 2, Chapters 3-5 consider relevant equatorial
ocean dynamics, Chapters 6 and 9 relevant atmospheric dynamics, and
Chapters 7 and 8 the main paradigms for how the Pacific Ocean and
atmosphere couple together to produce ENSO. Chapter 8 also
discusses the old mystery of why ENSO tends to be locked in phase
with the seasonal cycle. Successful dynamical and statistical
approaches to ENSO prediction are discussed in Chapters 10 and 11
while Chapter 12 concludes the book with examples of how ENSO
influences marine and bird life.
* Quick reference guide and step by step introduction to El
Nino/Southern Oscillation dynamics
* Keep informed and up to date on El Nino/Southern Oscillation
research and how El Nino and the Southern Oscillation can be
predicted
* Understand how El Nino can affect marine and bird life
A participatory and integrated procedure for the planning of water
resources is presented and illustrated through its application to a
real-world case study: the planning of a trans-boundary,
multi-purpose, regulated lake. Methods and concepts from Hydrology,
System Analysis, Optimal Control, Decision and Negotiation Theory
are presented and framed in a comprehensive and coherent procedure
for the efficient development of the decision-making process.
Relevant theoretical and mathematical aspects are briefly presented
for the non-expert reader, as well as all those practical details
that are often omitted in texts, but that constitute the very
essence of a project and make the difference between a successful
project and a failure. The book provides practicing professionals,
decision-makers and scientists with a complete, immediate example
of application of the Integrated Water Resource Management
paradigm.
- Complete development of a real world application of IWRM
- Integration of technical modelling and control aspects with
participatory and decision-making issues
- Enclosed DVD with videos and a hypertext with deep insights into
the IWRM application, related problems and practical solutions
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